Here are some ideas for a possible course structure which is based on retail marketing strategies. The major household names of Tesco, Asda, Sainsburys and Morrisons along with others have created new ways of manipulating the marketing dynamic by using fully integrated media programmes to increase their market share. The learnings from these developments can be an ideal platform for students to demonstrate in both marketing and visual/creative outputs that will be powerful in showing prospective employers that they have a special knowledge to help promote customer sales in a relevant and differentiated way.

1. Audit the marketplace for retail selling strategies.

Students need to explore the current dynamics of heavy retail marketing, this knowledge can be transferred to other marketing objectives.

What is the shape of the retail market and what journey has it taken over the last few years. Who are the winners and losers and what were their perceived marketing strategies to their customers. What material can be collected to demonstrate how they are communicating to customers. Who are the chief executives and which companies have they worked for, does this indicate a route to developing their strategy?

STUDENT OBJECTIVES; Collect any visual information that is current across the main players in the retail marketplace.
Investigate past advertising and the size, shape and make up of the companies that are perceived to be the main players.
Plot the position of the quality to price alongside the small to larger players.
Learning is focused to understanding the different strategies and movements within the retail marketplace to determine what the visual and written content drives this message to customers.

2. Multi Channel retail marketing

Changing dynamics of the roles and responsibilities of the designer and creative types in the retail marketing relationship

What are the routes to market? Are traditional media routes adapting to be more effective in driving sales and profitability? Is the company strategy as visible to the senior decision makers or is it developing from market forces?
Paper is expensive. Data is more accessible. Digital routes are cheap. What is the customer communication gap and the effectiveness of the media to help in gaining a positioning in the marketplace that is viable for the marketing budget?
Amazon invested heavily to gain its market share. Tesco have explored wider customer offers.
Explore the cost to sales ratio of customer facing media. What are the pros and cons of traditional printed media and digital media?
Explore the visual and written content of a selling page. Develop a set of principles that show how an appreciation of the best practise to deliver content.
Learning to evaluate media and its benefits to deliver messages to the customer against the implementation cost. Gaining a greater understanding of the content, visual and written and its selling approach to customers.

STUDENT OBJECTIVES; Developing a knowledge of linked media opportunities that help in delivering sales. A basis of how a design manager operates and influences the origination of a quality of output for differing media.

3. Professional Practise.

Ways of working part 1

Creativity and marketing. Joining the two functions with more clarity to financial and strategic advantages.
Responsibilities of a creative person to understand and react to the needs of the marketing approach without compromise to the individuality of the creative output. Measures of marketing that can help promote a more individual approach to creating and managing a more innovative concept.
Explore how a creative person may affect the decision making of the concept and what the blockages are from marketing colleagues. Roles and responsibilities charted. Company structures. Assertion and aggression.
Brand management puts restrictions on designers and creative teams to achieve a differentiated approach to visual communication. Show how this can be overcome.
Explore the marketing approach to keeping integrity of the marketing strategy embedded into the overall plan.
This learning is built on students understanding the current positioning of a retailer who is store based and trying to develop other marketing channels.

STUDENT OBJECTIVES; Choose an area of interest that demonstrates how to sell a product or service using the above strategies.

4. Art direction and visual/written content management

Ways of working part 2

How do you organise a photo shoot and what is your responsibility in art directing a team? What are the pitfalls that can come from this expensive use of creative resource? How do you manage the photographic output when it is not possible to produce the final requirement in camera? What are the routes to planning and implementation of a shoot, are fashion shoots and table top shoot requirements different? What are the considerations for content management of the visual and written resource, how is this requirement used as part of multi channel working? Discussions surrounding print management and how to employ specialists, what a project shape and implementation looks like.
Workshop using Photoshop to create a new visual approach.
Selection process. Looking at the best shot from a wide selection of content. Exploring the decision making process. Plan a shoot and discuss the total requirements, demonstrate by practical and budgetary considerations in the output.
Look at content management systems and the management of data, comment on its links to the media usage.
Comment and considerations for large print projects. Producing a print project plan from origination to final printed product. Links and considerations involved in the process identified.
Learning output based on responsibilities and practical approaches to delivering visual and written content. Understanding of job role and responsibilities alongside managing content from origination to final customer facing solution.

STUDENT OBJECTIVES; A demonstration of practical approaches in the production of selling opportunities through different media.

All the above learning objectives are expanded into proper lesson plans and can be used as a block of idividual courses that can be delivered on a consultant lecturer basis.